Loose-leaf binder.



' W. FAIRGHILD & G. L. COOPER.

LOOSE LEAF 31mm.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 24, 1911.

Patented Dec. 5, 1911.

INVENTORS COLUMIIA ELANOGRAPM c0..WASH|NuTON. D. c.

U ITE STATES PATENT oFEIoE.

WILLIAM EAIRoHrL'n oE ALBANY, AND GEORGE L. COOPER, or TROY,'NEW YORK,

ASSIGNORS T0 WILLIA JC. MARTINEAU AND CLARENCE R. MA TINEAU, OF

ALBANY, NEW YORK.

LoosE-LEAE BINDER.

Application filed February 24, 1911. Serial No. 610,581.

To all whom it may concern: i

Be it known that we, WVILLIAM FAIROHILD and GEORGE L. COOP R, both citizens of the United States, and residing, respectively, in

the city and county of Albany, New York, and in the city of Troy, Rensselaer county, New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Loose-Leaf Binders, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to loose leaf binders or filing devices for detachably holding in superposition a variable number of sheet-s of paper or the like. Its object is to provide simple, durable and eflicient means for holding a desired number of such sheets closely together so that they may be readily referred to, written upon, detached, replaced or added to, as desired.

Another object of the inventionis to combine a considerable clamping pressure on the sheets with the advantages of an openback or lie-open book.

Further objects of the invention will appear inthe specification and be pointed out in the claims.

Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings represent in perspective, partly broken away, two preferred forms of our invention; Figs. 3 and 4: show the nuts of Figs. 1 and 2 respectively detached from the device.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, 11 designates the lower cover of a binder of which 12 is a back or clamp portion, 13, a hinge and 14, the body. 15 is the upper cover, also con sisting of a back 16, hinge 17 and body 18. These covers may be made of heavy board covered with a textile material, which forms the hinge portions 13 and 17 19 is a flexible stem formed of a close spirally wound wire, preferably resilient, 2'. 6., of spring temper, and provided with solid pointed ends 20. In the present instance, two of these stems 19 are shown. Each of them is secured to the lower cover back portion 12 by means of an integral transverse loop 21 at the lower end of the coil 19. The upper cover is apertured at 22, through which apertures the stems 19 freely pass when the covers are in I superposed position. The body portion of each of the stems 19 formsa screw-thread, on which, above the upper cover 15, runs a nut 23.

To use the device, the nuts 23 and the upper cover 15 are removed, when any desired number of sheets of paper, textile material or the like, previously perforated in the usual manner, may be slipped over the stems 19. The cover 15 is then replaced and the nuts 23 screwed on to the stems 19. By reason of the elasticity of the coiled wire stems, the nuts may be screwed down on the cover 15 with suflicient force to slightly elongate the effective portions of the stems, 2'. a, the portions between the covers, whereby the sheets are very securely clamped. At the same time, the resiliency of the stems 19 permits their curving transversely'when the binder is opened, so that it will lie open at any desired point.

In the form ofrour device shown in Figs. 2 and 4:, the covers.11 and 15 are as before and similarly marked. The body portions of the stems 29 and the engaging loops 31 at their lower ends are also as already described. The nuts 33 are in this case provided with a shoulder 34, having a flat lower face, and a threaded extension 35 below the shoulder adapted to screw into, instead of outside of, the stem 29, it being of course understood that a coiled wire stem such as is shown'provides both an external and an internal screw-thread.

Clearly, the operation and use of the device will be as described with reference to Figs. 1 and 3, except that its adaptability to varying thicknesses of inserted sheets will be lessened. In other words, the first device can be'used to clamp a single sheet of paper, or extended so that the covers are separated by almost the entire length ofthe stems 19. In the second form of the device, the covers cannot be clamped unless they are separated by the efficient length of the stems 29, the range of extension beyond this, depending on the length of the threaded portions 35 of the nuts 33.

What we claim is:

1. A retaining device for a loose leaf binder comprising a flexible stem of coiled wire forming a screw-thread, and a clamping nut engageable with said threaded stem.

2. A retaining device for a loose leaf binder comprising a flexible, resilient stem of coiled wire forming a screw-thread, and a clamping nut engageable with said threaded stem.

3. A retaining device for a loose leaf u I Patented Dec.. 5,1911.

binder comprising a flexible stemof coiled I wire forming an exterior screw-thread, and a clamping nut engageable with said exteriorly threaded stem.

4:. A loose leaf binder comprising a lower cover; an apertured upper cover; a flexible stem of coiled wire forming a screw-thread secured to said lower cover and passing through the aperture in said upper cover; and a clamping nut above said upper cover and engageable with said threaded stem.

5. A loose leaf binder comprising a lower cover; an apertured upper cover; a flexible stem of coiled Wire forming an exterior screw-thread secured to said lower cover and passing through the aperture in said upper cover; and a clamping nut above said upper cover and engageable with said eXteriorly threaded stern.

WILLIAM FAIROHILD. GEORGE L. COOPER.

Witnesses:

WM. C. MARTINEAU, A. FAIRWEATHER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

